Local News - Norwalk Advocate

STAMFORD - As the first drops of rain from tropical storm Hanna began to fall Saturday afternoon, the city was braced for flooding and other emergencies, city officials said.

NEW YORK - Altria Group Inc. said Monday it will buy UST Inc. for nearly $10 billion in a deal that will give the maker of Marlboro cigarettes access to the smokeless tobacco market with the Skoal and Copenhagen brands.

* Diane Simmons, 37, of 125 135th St., New York, N.Y., was charged Friday with two counts of second-degree identification theft, two counts of second-degree forgery, second-degree larceny and criminal attempt to commit larceny.

STAMFORD - Last Tuesday night, more than 90 Barack Obama supporters crowded into Plateau, a trendy downtown restaurant, for a post-convention fundraising party.

Each weekday morning, Riva Silverman drives her eldest daughter and son from their home in Norwalk to Stamford, where, at 7 a.m., the teenagers catch a bus that takes them 20 more miles to Solomon Schechter, a Conservative Jewish day school in Hartsdale, N.Y.

STAMFORD - Principal Joseph LaVorgna assessed the painted cinderblock walls and off-peach floor of an empty practice room where model heads waited for students in J.M. Wright Technical High School's hairdressing, barbering and cosmetology program.

STAMFORD - During orientation at the University of Connecticut-Stamford last week, incoming freshmen submitted to getting-to-know-one-another exercises. The first was easy: Students introduced themselves to those wearing the same color shirt.

STAMFORD - Carline Alexander and her five children used to sleep easy. But after she accepted a donated bunk bed for her 8-year-old and 11-year-old, Alexander began noticing itchy bites all over her body.

GREENWICH - Tropical storm Hanna caused choppy seas Saturday that prompted a water rescue at Greenwich Point when a speedboat foundered on a sandbar, police said.

NORWALK - Police were seeking suspects who set off two homemade "works bombs" Saturday night on Muriel Street, fire officials said Sunday. No one was injured, and nothing was damaged, officials said.

On Wednesday, the state Board of Education selected a plan for J.M. Wright Technical High School's future.

DARIEN - A revamped Darien Library Web site went online last week packed with features letting Internet users endorse or pan books, check the availability of the hottest loan items and sound off about Darien issues.

Republican Gov. M. Jodi Rell's administration has been working hard to dispel criticism her new Charter Oak Health Plan has an insufficient provider network.

Tropical Storm Hanna blew through southern New England over the weekend without causing the widespread damage or power outages initially feared. But Hanna unloaded about 6 inches of rain.

Sept. 14, 1983: The first link in Stamford's $50 million new transportation center was unveiled: the $3.1 million maintenance and storage garage for the Connecticut Transit Bus System. Immediately, it would become the headquarters for the 36 buses and 40 drivers.

Journalists often hustle out of the newsroom exclaiming, "I have to run out to cover a (fire, accident, escaped moose, etc.)" A few days ago, I rushed out, telling my editor, "I have to run to an emergency wedding."

It's that time of year again, when bars across the nation become havens for some of the most devoted fans on earth. It's football season.

Stamford resident Henry Hoffmann arrived in Baton Rouge, La., about 24 hours before Hurricane Gustav hit. Within a day, the Red Cross volunteer was stationed at a shelter in a recreation center in a suburb, where about 300 people took refuge.

St. Joseph at Bassick, 6:00 p.m. Bridgeport Central at Greenwich, 7:00 p.m. Fairfield Warde at Wilton, 7:00 p.m. Harding at Ridgefield, 7:00 p.m.